DDR Corp. [BEACHWOOD, Ohio] (NYSE: DDR) announced that David Lukes has been named President and Chief Executive Officer to replace Tom August, who has stepped down. In addition, Lukes has been named to the DDR Board of Directors. David Lukes served as CEO of Equity One from June 2014 to March 2017. Prior to joining Equity One, he served as President and CEO of Sears Holdings Corporation affiliate Seritage Realty Trust. Lukes also previously served as President and CEO of Olshan Properties as well as Chief Operating Officer of Kimco Realty Corporation.

J M Smith Corporation [SPARTANBURG, S.C.] has named A. Alan Turfeas the new CEO and Chairman of the Board following the retirement of CEO William R. Cobb. Turfe worked as a financial analyst for General Motors (GM), moving up the ranks, first as European Finance Director for their Automotive Components Division and then as CFO, GM Worldwide Purchasing and Logistics. Following a decade with GM, Turfe joined Fisher Scientific in successive leadership roles, including President of the Anatomical Pathology Group. He then joined IDEX Corporation where he served as President of Micropump, Inc. Turfe joins J M Smith Corporation from Fresenius Medical Care, where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer.

Diamond Resorts International® (“Diamond Resorts”) [LAS VEGAS] announced the current Chief Operating Officer, Michael Flaskey has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Matthew Avril, CEO of Diamond Resorts will be retiring. Mike Flaskey previously held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Diamond Resorts from 2014 to 2016, and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, North America for Diamond Resorts from 2010 to 2014. Prior to Diamond Resorts, Flaskey held key senior executive roles with Starwood Vacation Ownership and Fairfield Resorts (now Wyndham Vacation Ownership).

MFC Bancorp Ltd. [NEW YORK] (NYSE: MFCB) announced that Michael Smith, its Managing Director, has been appointed as the Company’s interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Smith is replacing Gerardo Cortina, who has resigned as President and Chief Executive Officer. Cortina will continue with the Company on a part-time basis as Vice President in order to assist with the transition.

Materion Corporation [MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio] (NYSE: MTRN) announced Jugal K. Vijayvargiya has joined Materion as President and Chief Executive Officer succeeding Richard J. Hipple. Vijayvargiya has also been appointed as a Materion director. Richard J. Hipple, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since 2006 will transition to Executive Chairman, a responsibility he will hold until retirement planned for within one year. Vijayvargiya has an extensive 26-year international career with Delphi Automotive PLC. Since 2012, has led the Delphi Automotive’s Electronics & Safety segment. In this role, Vijayvargiya has served as an officer of Delphi and a member of its Executive Committee.

David Staples

SpartanNash [GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.] (NASDAQ: SPTN) announced that its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors Dennis Eidson plans to retire as CEO following the annual meeting on May 23, 2017. Eidson will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board following his retirement as CEO. David M. Staples, President and Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Eidson as CEO. Staples has also been appointed to the Board of Directors. Staples’ executive experience prior to becoming President and Chief Operating Officer includes 16 years of service as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. He sits on the boards of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Rapids Symphony.

iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. [TORONTO] (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF) Joe Kozar will be taking on the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer. Alex Romanov, the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, will be undertaking the role of Vice President, Sales and Operations and will retain his Board position. Kozar has been and is involved with a number of high tech companies covering a broad range of solutions. At the present time he sits on several boards and is involved with venture capital investing.

Aware, Inc. [BEDFORD, Mass.] (NASDAQ: AWRE) announced that Richard P. Moberghas resigned as co-Chief Executive Officer and co-President and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Aware. Moberg will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Aware. Kevin T. Russell, Aware’s co-Chief Executive Officer and co-President, General Counsel has been named Chief Executive Officer, President and General Counsel. Russell will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Aware. Russell has been with Aware since April 2000 and has served as co-Chief Executive Officer and co-President, General Counsel since April 2011.

Patrick Yee and Trey Laird

Laird + Partners [NEW YORK] announced that it has appointed Patrick Yee as Chief Executive Officer. Trey Laird, Laird + Partners founder and current CEO, will continue to serve as Chief Creative Officer and Chairman. Previously, Patrick Yee was an early partner at Refinery29, serving as its Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy.

Jason Donahue

Cloudmark, Inc. [SAN FRANCISCO] announced the appointment of Jason Donahue as its Chief Executive Officer. Donahue brings nearly two decades of experience with an outstanding track record of success leading both public and private companies including Acronis, Vertex Business Services, Atlantis Computing, Meiosys, Ejasent, ClearApp, TeleComputing, and Apptix. He has also served and continues to serve on several boards of directors.

Aimee Cox

Community Health Partnership (CHP) [COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.] announced Aimee Coxas the organization’s chief executive officer. Cox, who currently serves as Community Development Manager with the City of Colorado Springs, will join CHP on April 3, 2017, succeeding Carol Bruce-Fritz. Cox has served in professional, elected and appointed positions in local government, driving innovation and partnership to solve challenging community problems.

David Edwards

Caligor Opco LLC [SECAUCUS, N.J.] appointed David Edwards as its new Chief Executive Officer. Most recently he was the East Asia Vice President for Alcon, a Novartis company. Edwards also served as President of the Asia-Pacific region at Bausch & Lomb and spent more than a decade in executive management positions at Johnson & Johnson. Tammy Bishopwho joined Caligor as Managing Director in 2010 and served as CEO following the Company’s acquisition by Diversis in 2016 will assume the new role of Chief Commercial Officer and continue to be a member of the Board of Directors.

GreenKey [CHICAGO and NEW YORK] announced the appointment of Nader Shwayhatas its new Chief Executive Officer. Shwayhat has been working with GreenKey as a strategic advisor since November. Earlier in his career, Shwayhat co-founded Pivot, Inc. over seven years and in various commercial and executive roles he guided the firm’s eventual sale to CME Group. While at CME Group, Shwayhat co-founded CME Direct and was the Executive Director, Global Head of Sales & Marketing. Most recently, Shwayhat served as Global Head of Sales and Business Development for Novus Partners.

Steve Schlotterbeck

EQT Corporation [PITTSBURGH] (NYSE: EQT) announced that Steven Schlotterbeck has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer – taking over for David Porges who retired from the position, staying on as Executive Chairman of EQT’s Board of Directors for a period of one year. A similar leadership transition occurred for EQT Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: EQM) and EQT GP Holdings, LP (NYSE: EQGP), where Schlotterbeck also assumed the role of CEO for both companies.

Swift Energy Company [HOUSTON] (OTC: SWTF) announced Sean Woolverton as Chief Executive Officer. He will also serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Woolverton succeeds the current Interim Chief Executive Officer Bob Banks, who will continue to serve as Chief Operating Officer for the Company. Woolverton was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Samson Resources Company, where he joined in November 2013. From 2007 to 2013, Woolverton held a series of positions of increasing responsibility at Chesapeake Energy Corporation including Vice President of its Southern Appalachia business unit. Prior to joining Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Woolverton worked for Encana Corporation. Earlier in his career, Woolverton worked for Burlington Resources in multiple engineering and management roles.

California Human Development (CHD) [SANTA ROSA, Calif.] has appointed Anita Maldonado as incoming Chief Executive Officer. Maldonado will join CHD on April 17, 2017 and work with retiring CEO Christopher Paige during a two-month transition period. Maldonado comes to CHD with an extensive background in social services and community action; she is currently the Chief Operating Officer for IMPACT Community Action in Columbus, Ohio.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. [DALLAS] (NASDAQ: FRGI) has appointed Richard (“Rich”) Stockinger as Chief Executive Officer of Fiesta. Stockinger served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Benihana Inc. from 2009 to 2014, a member of the Board of Directors of Benihana from 2008 to 2014, a member of the Audit Committee of Benihana from 2008 to 2009 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Benihana from 2010 to 2012. Prior to joining Benihana, he spent more than two decades at The Patina Restaurant Group, LLC and its predecessor Restaurant Associates, Inc. during which time he served in various senior executive capacities, including as President from 2003 to 2008 and as a Director from 1998 to 2006. Most recently, Stockinger has been a consultant of Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., and Not Your Average Joes, of which Stockinger is a member of the Board of Directors. Danny Meisenheimer has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Fiesta. Meisenheimer has been interim CEO of Fiesta since September 2016.

Eric Evans

HCA Gulf Coast Division [HOUSTON] announced that Eric Evans has been named chief executive officer of East Houston Regional Medical Center, replacing Alice Adams, who retired in December 2016. Evans was previously senior vice president of strategic planning for the HCA Gulf Coast Division. Evans, who began his career at HCA in 1996, has also served as chief operating officer of The Woman’s Hospital of Texas. Prior to joining The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, he was the chief operating officer of Lakeview Regional Medical Center in New Orleans.

Cybis LLC [MCLEAN, Va. ] announced it has elected Judson (Jud) Brandt as its Chief Executive Officer. Brandt most recently served as Chief Technology Officer for Bridgewater Associates. His previous roles include Vice President, Business Consulting for Oracle; Managing Director, Technology Strategy and Architecture for Accenture; divisional CIO and eBusiness leader for Delta Air Lines; and Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

ServiceNow [SANTA CLARA, Calif.] (NYSE: NOW) named John Donahoe as President and CEO. Donahoe was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay Inc. Current President, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Frank Slootman will continue as Chairman upon stepping down from his management role on April 3, 2017. Prior to joining eBay in 2005, Donahoe spent more than 20 years at Bain & Company. He began his career at Bain & Company and eventually rose to become Chief Executive Officer. He served as President and CEO of eBay Inc. from 2008 to 2015. He serves on the Board of Directors for PayPal, Nike and Intel Corp.

Deltic Timber Corporation [EL DORADO, Ark.] (NYSE: DEL) announced that John D. Enlow has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. Enlow joins Deltic having most recently served as Vice President, Real Estate and Southern Timberlands at Weyerhaeuser, from 2014 to 2016. after serving over 16 years in roles of increasing responsibility at Rayonier Inc.

CTI BioPharma Corp. [SEATTLE] (NASDAQ: CTIC) announced the appointment ofAdam Craig as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and member of the Board of Directors. Craig succeeds Richard Love, interim President and CEO who will continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors. Craig has worked as an independent consultant providing strategic and operational advice and support to CTI BioPharma and other hematology/oncology biotechnology companies since 2016. Prior to consulting, Craig was Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Executive Vice President of Development of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals from 2012 to 2016. From 2008 to 2012, Craig was CMO and Senior Vice President of Chemgenex Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Associated [ADDISON, IL] Tim Combs has been appointed as president and CEO. This appointment is a welcome return for Combs, as he served as the Company’s General Manager from 2009 to 2010. Combs brings 35 years of leadership and sales experience to Associated, having most recently served as President of Sales and Marketing at The Raymond Corporation. Combs will replace Michael Romano.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. [ATLANTA] (NASDAQ: PLKI) announced that Cheryl Bachelder will be stepping down as CEO at the closing of the Company’s previously announced transaction with Restaurant Brands International Inc. (“RBI”). A new Popeyes leader will be named by RBI at that time.

ClarkDietrich Building Systems [WEST CHESTER, Ohio] announced the impending retirement of its president and CEO Bill Courtney. Courtney, who has been at the helm of ClarkDietrich, since its formation in 2011, and prior to that with ClarkWestern, will step down March 31, 2018, after which time he will continue to serve the company in a role on its board of directors. Jim Collins, the company’s current chief information officer, has been tapped to take the reins upon Courtney’s departure. Collins has committed his career to steel framing, having joined Dietrich Metal Framing in 1983.

Panasonic Corporation [NEWARK, N.J.] has named Tom Gebhardt, currently President of Peachtree City, GA-based Panasonic Automotive Systems Company, to succeed Joseph M. Tayloras Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. Tom Gebhardt has led Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America since 2012, presiding over its growth into Panasonic’s largest and most dynamic business in North America. During his career with the company, Mr. Gebhardt has served as President of Panasonic Industrial Group, President of Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America, and General Manager of Panasonic Batteries. Upon retiring, Taylor will assume the role of Vice Chairman of the company until December 31, 2017. He will also serve as a strategic advisor to Lake Forest, CA-based Panasonic Avionics Corporation and as a board member of Panasonic Corp. of North America subsidiary Hussmann Corporation.

LaunchBio [SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA] announced it named Joan Siefert Rose as CEO. Rose most recently served as the president and CEO of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development. She is a senior partner at CREO, Inc.

Medizone International, Inc. [SAN FRANCISCO] (OTC: MZEI) announced the appointment of David A. Esposito as Chairman of the Board and interim Chief Executive Officer. Edwin Marshall, current Chairman and CEO, will step down from leadership of the Company and will become an advisor to the Chairman through this period of transition.

Trucept Inc. [SAN DIEGO] (OTC Pink: TREP) named Norman Tipton as CEO. The outgoing CEO, Brian Bonar, has agreed to provide transitional consulting services through June 30. For the past 10 years Tipton has been Vice President and General Counsel of Trucept Inc. Since 2007, Tipton has been an advisor to several publicly traded companies’ boards. In 2013 he joined the Board of Directors of Trucept Inc. He has previously held management positions at SAIC and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Arrakis Therapeutics [WALTHAM, Mass.] has named Michael Gilman as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Gilman was founding CEO of Padlock Therapeutics and Stromedix, and held executive roles at Biogen and ARIAD Pharmaceuticals.

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